The new arrow tattoos from Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
(Picture: Instagram / Jennifer Lopez)It used to be that a relationship was not considered official until it was confirmed on Facebook, but Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are the latest stars to follow a new trend of declaring love by getting complimentary tattoos.
The couple, who married last year —18 years after ending their original relationship — marked Valentine’s Day by showing off their ink as a sign of their renewed commitment.
“Happy Valentine’s Day my love,” Lopez wrote on Instagram alongside a selfie showing the new tattoo of an arrow on her abdomen. It is the singer and actress’s first tattoo.
Her gallery of pictures showed Affleck had a similar tattoo of two interlocking arrows, while other images showed them canoodling on a boat.
The declaration follows a media-heavy fortnight for the pair after an alleged row at the Grammys and then starring in a Dunkin’ Donuts advert during the Super Bowl.
They are not the first celebrity couples to get tattoos for each other, but is getting inked the sign of a long-lasting relationship? Here’s what history tells us when it comes to star pairings.
David and Victoria Beckham
The so-called king and queen of British celebrity couples have been married for 24 years and have four children. And while they may not put their successful relationship down to the number of tattoos they have, they are certainly unafraid to face the pen.
A particularly noticeable show of affection was made for their sixth anniversary, when the pair had "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" tattooed in Hebrew. The former footballer has his on his left arm and Victoria has an equivalent tattoo running down her neck.
They have other tattoos as well and the tradition seems to have passed down from father to son, with Brooklyn Beckham dedicating 70 of his 100 tattoos to his wife Nicola Peltz.
Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder
The actors met in 1989 when they reportedly locked eyes at a vending machine in a New York theatre. Depp said at this moment “everything went fuzzy”.
He added: “We hung out the whole day… and night, and we’ve been hanging out ever since. I love her more than anything in the whole world.”
They got engaged five months later but, more famously, Depp showed his commitment by getting a tattoo reading “Winona Forever”.
“The truth is very powerful — believe me, this Winona Forever tattoo is not something I took lightly,” he said. “Her eyes kill me…”
However, while Ryder was reportedly besotted with the tattoo, there was no “Johnny Forever” equivalent and the pair broke up in 1993 after “growing apart”. The tattoo now reads “Wino Forever” (oh, dear…).
Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth were married for nine months — from December 2018 to August 2019. However, they were in a relationship for nearly 10 years in which they dated on and off. The pair first met during the filming of The Last Song.
Instead of matching tattoos, the actor and singer took things a step further with a quote beginning on Hemsworth and finishing on Cyrus.
"If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly," the Theodore Roosevelt quote begins, finishing with "So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
The different lengths would suggest that Cyrus took on more of the burden in the collaboration. Whether resentment from this was a factor in their ultimate separation is unclear — but the pair divorced in January 2020.
But, in a silver lining, her song Flowers was inspired by her new-found fulfilment in being single and recently reached number one in the UK.
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott
Perhaps an example of less is more, the rapper Scott and socialite Jenner have discreet matching tattoos of a butterfly.
Having started dating in the spring of 2017, the pair went on to have a baby, Stormi Webster, together the following year, and a second son, Aire Webster, in 2022.
The tattoos are said to be in reference to Scott’s 2018 song Butterfly Effect and were imprinted before the birth of their first child.
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
Getting a tattoo was not an impulsive Depp-esque decision for the singer Legend and model Teigen, who waited until six years into marriage to go under the pen.
The pair married in 2013 but in 2019 posted an Instagram photo of corresponding tattoos on Teigen’s forearm and Legend’s inner bicep.
The simple message carries the name of the other, as well as the names of their children Luna and Miles.
And, only last month, they welcomed their third child, daughter Esti Maxine Stephens, so there may be a need to get the tattoo touched up.
